The present invention relates generally to a protective sports glove. More specifically, the present invention relates to a protective sports glove for use in the game of lacrosse that provides improved protection to a user""s hand, while providing improved flexibility, durability, fit and breathability.
In contact sports, such as lacrosse or hockey, where sticks are essential elements of the game, a player""s hands and wrists are especially vulnerable to injury when being checked by another player""s stick. For this reason, players typically utilize padded gloves to protect their hands, wrists and lower forearms during play. The areas of a player""s hand that are particularly susceptible to injury are those where the glove flexes, because at those locations, the protective padding is typically constructed such that it can bend or flex with a player""s joint. However, such bending or flexing, such as at the wrist or knuckle area, can leave the player""s joint exposed due to the bending away of the protective padding and, therefore, susceptible to injury.
Accordingly, wrist guards are known in the art for protective sports gloves to provide protection for a player""s wrist between the cuff and hand portion. While most prior wrist guards provide adequate protection, they provide limited flexibility and adjustability and are therefore uncomfortable and are often removed by user. It is also a problem to provide a protective guard for a player""s wrist between the glove and cuff portion that both protects the user""s wrist, also provides flexibility and is not overly bulky.
Additionally, most prior gloves disclose cuffs that are secured directly to the glove portion by stitching. The stitching limits the flexibility of a player""s wrist and also cannot be adjusted. U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,396, discloses a configuration where the cuff and glove portion are attached to one another by lacing which allows for improved flexibility and also adjustability. However, the lacing typically must be done by hand and therefore requires significant labor time in order to manufacture the glove, thereby increasing its cost.
Further, many prior gloves attempt to provide limited breathability and flexibility. Therefore, certain gloves have been introduced that utilize mesh material on portions of a player""s palm and fingers. However, the mesh material is located in primary areas that contact a stick and because of the amount of movement of the stick in a player""s hand, such as through cradling or the like, the mesh material tends to wear quickly and ultimately tear, therefore making the glove illegal. Moreover, some prior gloves have utilized vent holes in the glove to provide ventilation. The vent holes in these prior gloves, however, are relatively small and therefore offer little ventilation. Further, prior gloves that have tried to provide improved breathability through the inclusion of vent holes have done so at the expense of exposing a user""s hand to injury at that location.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a protective sports glove for utilization in contact stick sports, such as lacrosse and hockey, having a wrist guard that is coupled to the glove so as to provide maximum protection and flexibility.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a protective sports glove for utilization in contact stick sports, such as lacrosse and hockey, that is more flexible and therefore more comfortable for a player.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a protective sports glove for utilization in contact stick sports, such as lacrosse and hockey, that provides more breathability and ventilation than prior gloves without sacrificing durability or protection.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a protective sports glove for use in lacrosse that is smaller than prior gloves.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a protective sports glove for use in lacrosse that provides a better fit for a user""s hand.
In accordance with the above and other objects of the present invention, an improved protective sports glove is provided. The sports glove has a cuff portion for engaging a user""s wrist and forearm and a hand portion elastically coupled to the cuff portion. The hand portion has a palm portion on the inner side of the glove and an opposing portion. The glove has a plurality of finger portions extending from the hand portion for receipt of a user""s fingers therein and a thumb portion. A wrist guard is secured to the cuff portion and elastically coupled to the hand portion. The back portion of the hand portion has a plurality of protective padded portions. The protective padded portions are cut horizontally to allow a user""s hand to flex and also vertically to conform to a user""s hand as it holds the stick. At least one vent opening is formed between two protective padded portions disposed on either side of the vertical cut in the back portion. The palm portion of the glove is similarly comprised of a non-mesh material with a plurality of mesh portions, whereby the mesh material is located in the palm portions in areas that are not intended to have primary contact with the handle of a stick and thus will not wear.
These and other features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention, when viewed in accordance with the accompanying drawings and appended claims.